By Howard Koplowitz
U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) is scheduled to give the keynote address at the Queens Village Republican Club’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Sunday at Antun’s catering hall.
Turner, who represents portions of western and eastern Queens and parts of Brooklyn, shocked the country in September when he defeated state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in a special election to replace disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner in Congress.
The club, the oldest in the country, said the dinner Sunday at Antun’s, at 96-43 Springfield Blvd. in Queens Village, “has been the highlight of the Queens political calendar and this year promises to be the most electrifying event ever as we enter a crucial election year for the Republican Party, which will determine the future direction of our country.”
Also scheduled to speak at the dinner, which in prior years toasted the likes of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former state Sen. Frank Padavan and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, is GOP congressional candidate Frank Scaturro.
Scaturro, who may run against Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) or Carolyn McCarthy (D-Garden City) depending on how the congressional lines are redrawn, is a constitutional scholar, visiting professor at Hofstra Law School and a partner at the law firm FSB FisherBroyles.
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, who got his political start as sergeant-at-arms of the Republican club, is also scheduled to speak.
Maragos is planning a challenge to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) for her seat.
The dinner will also honor Stephen Flanagan, founder and director of the Conservative Society for Action, which the Republican club said is the oldest grassroots Tea Party organization in the country.
Flanagan, who lives on Long Island, will be presented with the Patriot of the Year Award.
The mother of Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, an Ozone Park resident who was killed in action in Afghanistan, will be given the Ultimate Sacrifice Award on her son’s behalf.
The Businessman of the Year Award will be doled out to Stephen LoGiudice Jr., owner of Gaby’s Pizzeria, at 204-23 Jamaica Ave. in Hollis.
Other honorees include Patty DeCiccio-Franke, president of the Oratorio Society of Queens, and Antun’s owner Joe King.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
